Golfers Sitting In Ninth At UNM's Tucker Intercollegiate

Friday, September 22

Albuquerque, NM

All Day

Colorado

First Two Rounds

Senior John Souza shot one of 20 subpar rounds Friday and is leading the Buff attack here.

Golfers Sitting In Ninth At UNM's Tucker Intercollegiate

September 22, 2017 | Men's Golf

Senior Souza Leading Buffs With a 3-Over 147

By: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information

                ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of Colorado men's golf team opened well but couldn't sustain solid play as the day progressed, as the Buffaloes find themselves in ninth place after the first two rounds of the 63rd Annual New Mexico William H. Tucker Intercollegiate.

                No. 14 Nevada-Las Vegas owns the 36-hole lead, as the Rebels were the only school out of 17 competing here to finish two rounds under par, and barely at that with a 1-under 575 team score. Washington holds the runner-up spot and appears to be the only real challenger to UNLV ahead of Tuesday's third and final round, as the Huskies were the only school to record a subpar second round team score and are six back at 5-over 581. UNLV led after 18 holes with a 6-under 282 tally.

                Colorado was tied for fifth after the morning round, as the Buffaloes recorded a 6-over 294 score; but couldn't get anything going the second time around the 7,556 yard, par-72 UNM Championship Course layout. CU managed just five birdies en route to turning in a 14-over 302 score for an overall 20-over 596.

                "We got off to a pretty good start on the back nine in the morning," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We didn't play the stretch of easy holes very well in either round and that is really what cost us and turned what could have been a good day into one we aren't too pleased about. We have to keep getting better at our course management. The guys competed really well, however, and that is a good reason that if we play well tomorrow we can move quite a ways up the leaderboard. The last 27 or so holes today were played in very tough conditions and that will help us going forward."

The course, which is usually set up tough to begin with, be it locations of the pins or the length of the rough, was augmented by wind gusts of 23 to 25 miles per hour the bulk of the day. It kept anyone from going low and any subpar round was a great effort.

                Senior John Souza paced the Buffaloes on Friday, as his 71-76—147 (3-over) effort has him tied for 18th. He recorded a team-best eight birdies, including five in the first round, which also tied for the fourth-most in the field. He also leads the entire meet in par-3 scoring, playing the eight at a collective 2-under.

                Sophomore Daniel O'Loughlin carded a pair of 74s for a 4-over 148 score, tying him for 25th overall. He had just three birdies but his 27 pars are tied for the most in the field.

                Senior Spencer Painton turned in two 75s for a 6-over 150 total, as he is tied for 39th. He only scored a couple of birdies but managed 26 pars, which are tied for third overall. He was the only Buff not to record a score higher than a bogey.

                Yet another CU senior, Yannik Paul, had some uncharacteristic struggles all day; he opened with a 74 which included a triple bogey on the par-4 17th after he had started 2-under par. He then closed with a 6-over 78 that had him score seven bogeys, with his 8-over 152 tying him for 58th.

                Rounding out the CU performers was sophomore Ross Macdonald, who is tied for 72nd with a 75-80—155 scorecard (or 11-over par). He had two birdies and 23 pars against nine bogeys and two doubles.

                Arizona's George Cunningham holds the individual lead, as his 70-69—139 scorecard was good for a one-shot lead over UNLV's Shintaro Ban.

                The third and final round is set for a 7:45 a.m. MDT shotgun start; the Buffaloes will then return home to host its own Mark Simpson-CU Invitational at Colorado National Golf Club on Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 25-26).

NOTES: Colorado, along with host New Mexico, are the only schools to have appeared in all 63 Tucker meets … UNM's course is always an early test, and it usually plays tough: the average score for the field is 75.59 (for a total of 199 rounds); only four scores were recorded in the 60s on Friday, 20 subpar overall with another 14 of even-par … Only five players are subpar through 36 holes with one other even.

BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS

T18.	John Souza	71-76—147
T25.	Daniel O'Loughlin	74-74—148
T39.	Spencer Painton	75-75—150
T58.	Yannik Paul	74-78—152
T72.	Ross Macdonald	75-80—155

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

1.	George Cunningham, Arizona	70-69—139
2.	Shintaro Ban, UNLV	68-72—140
3.	Harry Hall, BYU	70-72—142
T4.	Henry Lee, Washington	73-70—143
T4.	Derek Castillo, CSU-Fullerton	68-75—143

TEAM STANDINGS

1.	UNLV	282-293—575
2.	Washington	294-287—581
3.	Brigham Young	284-302—586
T4.	Arizona	292-297—589
T4.	Colorado State	295-294—589
7.	San Diego State	292-300—592
7.	New Mexico	297-295—592
6.	Cal State-Fullerton	294-299—593
9.	COLORADO	294-303—597
10.	Texas-Arlington	299-299—598
11.	Denver	298-303—601
12.	Nevada	294-308—602
13.	Washington State	305-301—606
14.	New Mexico State	303-305—608
14.	Louisiana Tech	307-301—608
16.	San Diego	307-302—609
17.	Texas-El Paso	306-307—613